9 The Burden of Truth

[September 21th – Elpid's border, Clogwyn area]

Once Nion finally arrived at the place that was stormed by outsiders previously, she had an intense feeling of a déjà vu. Hundreds of men and women of different ages were already climbing the precipice of Clogwyn, some others were running along the precipice hoping to find another way to get to the top. Many of these people were already injured; most of the young men and women were covered in blood. Once again, the groups were coming from the direction of that distant village of the lands of Elpida and the same scenario was about to take place again. However, this time the scale was at a completely different level, it was as if the whole village was desperately trying to get through the borders.

Busy with the incident at the hospital, Nion had arrived much later than she was expected. Warning these people about the trespassing policies would be meaningless and only would make the situation even more difficult to handle since Nion was alone and the citizens of Elpida had already broken through the limit of "safe-zone" according to Aleksithimia's border control policy. Nion decided to contact the first line border control to get more details about the ongoing situation.

"This is Quarta, what is the situation at the main gate?"

"The main gate is under attack." Said the first borderline security agent.

"Their identity?"

"The aggressors' identity is unclear; but, they are coming from lands of Elpida's direction." He replied.

"Any casualties on your side?"

"Multiple casualties and about a dozen people are injured, we won't hold much longer!" He said.

"Is the prosper is aware of the current situation?"

"Mitera System has summoned you first."

"Very well, I will handle the situation myself. Make sure to protect the main gate for another 10 minutes." She ordered.

"Understood!"

As soon as the call ended, Nion jumped off the cliff in the very middle of the most concentrated area filled with trespassers. During nighttime the only source of light is the moon, so nobody saw Nion flying down until she touched the ground. Her landing energy had produced a small shockwave that made people who were nearby fall on the ground. Some people recognized her and begun screaming trying to alarm others.

"ONI IS HERE, RUN!!"

Single individuals and couples spread out running away from Nion as fast as they could, other small groups who were carrying injured people tried to hide, youngest and the healthiest ones regrouped themselves in small circles trying to protect each other.

"How many of you do I have to kill so you understand that you are not welcome...?" Said Nion.

"The hell would you understand! You will be punished for all the evil you've done!" Shouted a young man who his family who were holding him back.

Nion charged into that man's direction, but he got suddenly pulled back to the middle of his group and an old woman came out in his place. She looked like one of the elders of the "Grand Central" who transmitted the power and elected the prosper Aleksithimia, she looked very old.

The old woman said something to the young man in an unfamiliar language; Her voice was surprisingly calm and monotonous, which made it impossible to define the intonation of her phrase. After finishing her sentence, the old woman stood up in front of Nion and bowed before her.

"I am Quarta, the guardian of the East borderline of lands of Aleksithimia! You are trespassing our closed borders and you will be given a death penalty if you do not evacuate our premises immediately!" Nion shouted to everyone.

Some of the trespassers started crying as if they lost all hope to survive from the moment Nion arrived at the scene.

The old woman carefully approached Nion and spoke out with a heavy accent that sounded very different from the one from Elpida.

"Oni..." the old woman whipped the tears with her shaking hands. "Quarta... forgive my people's rudeness. Gods have forsaken us, we have no place to go...We do not have a place to return anymore..." She said.

"What is the reason for your presence on our lands!" Ordered Nion.

"They are chasing us out!" Said old woman.

"They"? Asked Nion.

"The men from the Holy Order!" She replied.

"Elaborate!!" Ordered Nion.

"Please, hear me out. We are a group of farmers who came from the North, because of the rage of the God of Sun, we had to live our homes and looking for a better place to establish ourselves. Speranta, the village behind the forest was our only home for years until recently, when the people from the "Holy Order" appeared in our village. In the beginning, they proclaimed themselves as bounty hunters and then offered us their protection in exchange for a part of our resources. We are nothing more than families of farmers, the majority of my people, as well as the other inhabitants, have no knowledge in combat and since we were attacked by bandits and vandals very often, that was a great deal for us." Explained the old woman.

"Months after, some of our women went missing. The rumors about that the Holy Order is not what they claimed to begin circling the village. Villagers became suspicious, some were scared of them every time they came for food or anything else."

"One day, one of my five sons saw two men from the Holy Order assaulting a young woman and then they killed her right in front of his eyes. The whole village went looking for her, but we never found her body. Two days after some drunk men from the Holy Order arrived in our village and set our houses on fire for no apparent reason. Our strongest men and woman reunited together to stop the abusive behavior the Holy Order was doing to us. Our dear friends never came back home alive...Eventually, they did...beheaded." She sobbed.

"Since that incident, the leader of the Holy Order whom I don't know the name came to our village and said that we are sinners and that gods don't want us here anymore... Since that day, they were coming in large groups murdering every man and elders as myself and taking away our woman and children. Speranta has become worse than the living hell. Even if we'd go back, all of us would be crucified or thrown to fire burning alive...Exactly like they did to most of our friends." Said old woman.

"What is your name, old woman?" Asked Nion.

During the conversation, those who did not flee slowly surrounded Nion, ready to attack her all at once.

"My name is Kernel, I am the last elder of the "Shira" tribe." She replied.

Nion noticed the upcoming assault, in the dark, her purple eyes changed into flame purple color.

"Old woman! Tell your people to back off!" Shouted Nion to Kernel. "You should have heard of who I am. I am stronger, stronger than anyone of you! Lower your weapon, or I will turn this place into a bloodbath as you've never seen before" shouted Nion while solidifying her weapon.

"LET HER BE!" Shouted Kernel.

People who surrounded Nion did not move an inch further, the tension was getting higher.

"I am looking for a little child called Asta, where is he?" Asked Nion.

"How do you know his name?"

"You are not in the position of asking questions old woman."

Elder Kernel started crying.

"He is..."

One of the men who surrounded Nion interrupted the elder Kernel.

"ENOUGH!" He shouted. "You do not have to tell her anything at all! Look at her, she is all alone and we are more than a hundred. If we charge together right now we can end this once and for all! For how long do you want us to hide and run away? We should avenge our friends and families who were killed by her bloody hands! I saw her killing Pipola in front of her kids! How can you trust someone like that?! She is no better than these liars from the Holy Order!!" Said the man.

"If we don't kill her right now, there won't be a tomorrow for any of us!" Shouted another man.

"You hot-headed idiots! How many sacrifices do you need to understand that violence will only spread violence in return! I have enough of seeing my people dying!" Shouted Kernel

"You hot-headed idiots! How many sacrifices do you need to understand that violence will only spread violence in return! I have enough of seeing my people dying!" Shouted Kernel.

Everyone was on the edge of stress and pressure, the air of the whole area was so tense that the sound of the wind sounded like a god of death dancing impatiently, waiting for the climax of this edgy situation. People from the Shira tribe were ready for the final resort of giving everything they have to stop Nion, as she was the last barrier that was blocking their way into the suburbs of the capital of lands of Aleksithimia, located within 20 kilometers from the Eastern border.

Everyone 's minds were clear, the only option for them was to fight and each one of them was ready to die to protect their families. The only reason that everyone was hesitating to attack Nion was that she and the elder Kermel were in the middle of the human circle facing each other. The moon was glowing on these two as is they were two heroines under the spotlight of a theater scene that has reached its final act.

"His brother, Alex, is alive. He is currently under treatment in the capital of my country. I understood the reason for your actions and I am willing to cooperate... If you tell me where he is." Said Nion.

"All of us are having something or someone to protect. My duty is to protect my country and its people. I believe so do you...Kernel! The past cannot be changed and I am responsible for my actions. However, right now, your future is in my hands and I am asking to cooperate!" Said Nion as she sheltered her weapon. "Where is the child?"

"I am afraid that he was taken away by the people from the Holy Order..." Replied Kernel.

Another dozen groups arrived at the plain. In a blink of an eye, Nion rushed to see if the child she was looking for was with any of these groups, calling out "Asta's" name without any response. One of the people who just arrived pointed to the village's direction. After the nightfall, it was visible that the smoke was coming from that direction. Without losing a second, Nion rushed in that direction.

As soon as Nion entered the forest, her Kanjöga collar received an urgent message from Mitera System letting her know that she is about to leave the premises of her country. Minutes later the Mitera Server became unavailable; meaning that she had lost all possible ways of communication with everyone else from the lands of Aleksithimia, including the other Keepers. As she didn't have time to analyze the situation, her body kept moving forward. As if a "mother instinct" that she never thought she possessed had taken over her mind, her only priority was that child's safety.

The smell of burnt trees and the sound of screams were getting stronger as she approached the village. The tension was increasing as fast as the wind's temperature. Past the area of the fence, Nion has spotted multiple camps that looked ravaged and dead bodies lifelessly lying on the wet grass. She stopped by each and every one of them, hopelessly looking for the child. The stress of not making it on time was rising as her heart was beating faster and faster.

The air was getting dryer as if she was approaching an enormous source of blazing heat. When she finally arrived in the farming fields that were separating the forest and the outskirts of the village, the horizon of bright red and yellow colors was reflecting in her eyes... The village was covered in flames, the wind was whistling in her ears and the more she approached the village the clearer the sound got; the sound of human screams filled up her ears urging her to haste.

Flames of fire shined with all its glory; It was almost mesmerizing how awfully attractive the whole scene looked for an outsider. Its warmth along with the welcoming feeling of heated breeze was hiding the contrast with the screams. It was as if the heat was calling Nion to get in, but the more she approached the village the more insecure she felt. Burnt corpses were lying everywhere, the village was engulfed in fire; So warm, so beautiful, yet full of hate, and despise. Almost every house that Nion saw was burned to ashes.

True to herself and her objective, she kept advancing, calling the child name as loud as she could. However, it seemed like only dead were keeping her company. The situation and her safety were on the stake, yet, she refused the go back, knowing that if she does return there won't be another chance to see the child. Her self-assigned rescue mission and protection of Asta was her absolute priority, she simply could not think of anything else.

The occasional window was still in possession of its glass but most had broken so long ago that there was no trace of the shards on the warm rotting plank floors. In most houses, the roofs had partially caved in or at the very least they sagged like a disappointing soufflé. Nion kept moving forward and finally arrived in the wide place that looked like the City Hall. In the middle of the area, there was a bonfire twenty meters in height. Groups of masked people were executing villagers in front of it and then throwing dead bodies in the fire, some others from the same group were dragging small kids into cages of their vehicles.

The heat coming from the bonfire was as hot as lava; Bright yellow-orange, flames danced, flickered knowing they were being watched by the crowd, ready to devour everything that was getting too close. The bonfire was a dragon roaring with fury and spitting charcoal, with the immense heat that was slapping Nion's face more and more as she was trying to approach it. A couple of meters from the bonfire there was a man who was wearing a black coat with a big yellow crest on it. Unlike the others, he had removed his hood; However, this man was wearing an odd mask on his face that made it impossible to see his real face even with all the brightness that was coming from the bonfire.

The smell of the wood mixed with the smell of burnt human corpses that were thrown into the fire was so strong that it started burning Nion's eyes. Above, the dark black clouds were low and hairy in the skies, dried out, the wind was blowing around the bonfire as if it was trying to appease the man-eater flames. The group of masked men was executing the villagers in gory and sarcastic ways.

Nion was quietly approaching the hoodless man who acted as the leader of the groups when she suddenly felt a drizzle of rain on her head; It was about to rain.

Eager to terminate the savagery she was witnessing and free the villagers from their imminent fate, Nion knew that if she engaged herself in combat, her chances to succeed without being noticed by the rest of the masked group were close to zero.

"Look at that monkey! Ugu-ugu-ugu!" The man imitated a monkey sound as he watched a young man screaming of agony as the flames of bonfire kept devouring him alive.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!! YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!" The aggressor heartlessly yelled at the poor victim. While his other colleague was crying with a laugh.

"Make that mokey sound again!" Laughed the other man.

"Ugu-ugu-uga-uga" He laughed. "How long do you think it will take him to shut up?" He asked his friend who was almost rolling on the floor of how funny he thought it was.

"Oh my...that was some funny shit out there! Well, I would say, 4 minutes? Wanna bet some cash on it?" Replied the other man.

"Right on!"

The helpless man had his hands and legs tied together so he could barely move. He looked straight into his aggressor's eyes crying for mercy as his skin begun melting. He succumbed to hysterical screams of pain until his vocal cord burned out followed by quick suffocation.

Suddenly the spring rain evolved into a downpour. The masked group ran under the cover while dragging their prisoners behind. Some villagers took this moment as an opportunity and were able to untie themselves, as soon as they could move on their own, most of them ran in toward the forest. The hoodless man noticed that some prisoners escaped and gave a hand signal to two of his pioneers to go after them.

Both men started chasing the escapees. Some prisoners could barely run, as it looked that during the torture they got their "Achilles" tendon muscles damaged; Off with an explosive spring, most of the prisoners got exhausted and started rapidly slowing down their pace, meanwhile two robust masked men were promptly closing the distance between them.

Nion followed the whole scene while remaining in the shadows. As soon as both aggressors crossed their paths with two quick moves she sliced their throats wide open. Incapable to scream or call for the reinforcement because of the slashed vocal cords, both men dropped on the ground, slowly dying in agony and pain. Due to the heavy rain and reduced visibility, the rest of the group had not noticed their disappearance, everyone except the hoodless man who was fixated on Nion.

The ground had become muddy everywhere Nion's feet squelched into, the smell of the gunpowder was burning in the air, it could taste in the mouth like a deodorant. Ultimately, the screams seized to exist; Only Nion and the hoodless man remained on the empty area facing each other. The rain was still pouring, trying to calm down the intensity of the flames of death.

"Ooo...We have a little mouse sneaking around my territory." Said the masked man. "I know who you are... But, what could be possible the reason behind that sudden visit?"

"So it is you who is behind of all this mess!!" Shouted Nion.

" Mess?! I am not sure what you are talking about...OH, you mean 'the Trash Cleansing' yeah?" He jiggled.

"Do you understand how many people lost their lives because of you!!" Shouted Nion.

"Of course...Not! Why should I care in the first place?" He laughed.

"They are human beings! How dare you to call them 'Trash'"?!

"Okay, well...We also call them pigs if that will make you feel better." He laughed again.

"What's so funny about that?!"

"Because you are making me laughing my little mouse!" He kept laughing.

"But why are you doing that? Why don't you just live them alone?" Asked Nion, trying to debate with the madman.

"WHY...?" He asked himself. "Why...Huh, I've never asked myself to be honest. They are just annoying me, I don't want to see their face around here anymore...I guess?" He replied. "Would you take that as an answer?"

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Nion was about to get ready for the imminent combat as she understood that arguing with that man is pointless.

"Well, I guess you don't huh...That's a shame you know! Because I and you are very much alike, Nion!" He laughed.

"What?! How do you know that name?!" Confused she asked.

"Hey, hey, hey! And that's a secret." He laughed again. "But, let me tell you something interesting! Did you know that where I am coming from, you, my little mouse, are pretty famous!" Said the masked men.

"I have no time playing with you!" Firmly opposed Nion.

"Urgh, not cute...Not cute at all and that's a shame because I think you are sublime!"

Nion started walking towards the man.

"Wait, wait! Do you want to fight me? Come on! You don't want to kill me, I am your number one admirer!" He laughed.

"Just wait and see..." Said Nion.

"I am waiting." He giggled. "Waiting for you to kill me like you did killed hundreds of the same people, oh pardon me for that reminder, I thought that you forget!

"You are wrong!!" Nion stopped.

"Touché!" He laughed. "Hey, let's admit, we are so similar you and me, huh. And you know what? I am disappointed with seeing you here...Do you want to know why?" He asked.

"I don't care!!" Yelled Nion

"BECAUSE NOW YOU WANT TO BE A FUCKEN HERO!!" He shouted out of nowhere. "Look at them..." He disappeared for a brief second.

The man brought a young woman to the scene. He grabbed her by her hair while she was struggling then stabbed her legs with wooden sticks. The woman screamed in pain and agony.

"LOOK AT HIM NION!" He shouted to Nion. "What do you see? Do I look like him?"

"LET HER GO!!" Yelled Nion.

"He is a NOBODY!! He yelled.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!!" Nion continued begging him to free the victim.

"I don't understand, why do you care about them, tell me? Wait, is that a woman?" He grabbed the woman by her long black hair. "OH NO! My bad, my bad, okay! I thought you are a man! Tsk..." He sighed and then removed one of the sticks from his victim's leg.

"You are insane!" Said Nion.

"INSANE?! ME?!... I don't think that you've ever seen anything insane..." As he finished his phrase he grabbed his victim by the neck as if she was weightless.

"Oi, oi, oi! 'Insane' is a strong word! You should not be using it like that. Insanity is like an art of delusion and pleasure that nobody understands." The hooded man was taking his time as hi slowly was tightening her throat, enjoying the sight of his victim being struggling in the mid-air until she completely lost her voice and dropped her arms as the sign of losing consciousness.

"LET HER GO!" Shouted Nion.

"Huh...? Hey, you! Wake up! I am not done here!" He started shaking the woman with both of his hands. "Hey, hey, hey! Don't tell me you are already dead? What the fuck...Already...?! Fuck--" As the sign of a complete disappointment, he grabbed the woman by her hair and projected her body right into the bonfire flames that were at least 25 meters away.

Nion stood immobile astonished of what she just witnessed.

"You see, I got a serious dilemma here... A citizen from the lands of Aleksithimia has trespassed into our country, disturbing our peace and on top of that, killed two of my men." Said the masked man.

"How..." Nion could not find the words. "Where is peace? WHERE?!" Nion was boiling inside from anger and frustration.

"What is wrong with that? They invaded my lands, I am just getting rid of the nuisance, the same way you did just yesterday." He said.

"You are letting your man throwing innocent people into the bonfire, crucifying and assaulting their woman? Is that what you call peace?" Yelled Nion.

"YES! My peace." The masked man removed his long jacket that was hiding the big yellow crest-like ornament that was covering his chest like some sort of armor. "So, you are saying that protecting my country from these savages who came here out of nowhere, occupied "my" lands and now are trying to reclaim it as a part of their home... is wrong?

"You are out of your mind!" Said Nion

"Our elders were fighting for that every piece of land that you all are stepping on with your dirty boots. Y'all's presence in this country is soiling our sacred ground!" Said the masked man. "Now think very carefully. I don't care what you came here for, but the fact that you just killed two of my men irritates me. And I do not like being irritated! I will give you the offer of your lifetime, go back to your country and never come back!" Ordered the masked man.

"All of these people are running into my lands because of you!" Said Nion.

"Well, that problem is now solved!" He pointed onto to bonfire.

"That is savagery! The way you treat them is simply unhuman, I can't let you do that anymore!" Said Nion.

"Maybe you wanted us to conclude some sort of a peaceful agreement!? Don't make me laugh!" He laughed. "They illegally occupied my country! You want us to become friends maybe? Tell me Quarta, what makes you different from them, coming to my lands and telling me what is right and what wrong?" He asked.

Nion remained silent.

"You and I are very much alike, both protecting our homeland and its policies. I just made your country a favor by burning these pigs alive, so their little adventure ends here. Yet, you still act as if you cared..." Said the masked man while he began to advance towards Nion.

"Yesterday, when you killed that woman...Urgh, what was the name of that bitch...Pipopo, Papipa...AH! PIPOLA!! Aah! You know who I am talking about, huh? That one with two kids, does it rings any bells?" He laughed.

"Shut your mouth..." Nion said through her teeth.

"You killed that "poor woman" right in front of her kids...Tsk tsk tsk." He made a hand gesture to his man to surround their uninvited guest. "Tell me where was your heroic spirit yesterday, huh, lady Justice? How did you feel killing unarmed woman, huh?"

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!" Screamed Nion.

"Look at you...And you are giving me moral lessons, how dare you?!" He hysterically laughed.

"ENOUGH!!!" Shouted Nion.

"ENOUGH OF WHAT?! COME ON, SAY IT!" He laughed sarcastically.

"I AM NOT A MURDERER!!" She shouted back.

"THEN WHO ARE YOU?!"

"I...I..." Nion could not find the right words.

From the beginning, this conversation was nothing else than a one-sided emotional abuse. Nion was still too young and naive to understand that she was simply being manipulated by the man. The stranger himself knew exactly what he was doing as he was enjoying every bit of their conversation, switching topics, portraying his adversary as the villain, showing no empathy and certainly no pity at all. In truth, he was just bulling her, instilling fear and guilt in her heart, meddling the confusion to fog up her mind and soul...And he was good at it.

"Poor kid, he was crying in my arms." He mocked her.

"WHERE IS HE?" Hysterically shouted Nion.

"What do you want from him? Wanna finish him off as you did with his brother?" He giggled.

"WHERE, IS, HE?!" Shouted Nion.

"Who knows...Maybe he is dead by now...Maybe not..." The masked man was orchestrating with his hands by making strategic orders to his man to take positions.

"Then I will make you spit it out by force!" She menaced him.

"Oh, oh... Scary, scary!" He kept mocked her.

Nion got surrounded by his men, they were more than fifty assassins armed to the teeth just waiting for their leader's signal. While Nion got distracted by surroundings, in the blink of an eye their leader closed the distance between them and was standing right next to her. Surprised of such quick movement as she could not see him coming, Nion found herself at the mercy of the man with the yellow cross armor.

The masked man grabbed her chin and started whispering into her ear.

"Our lovely discussion ends here... I really like your guts woman! You are a fearless warrior, I respect that. Now, let me offer you two outcomes of this beautiful evening:"

"One. You are getting out of here with your tail under your legs without ever coming back to my lands and I will close my eyes to the fact that you trespassed and most importantly, killed two of my men."

"Two. We can end this right here and right now, like real warriors would do, but I don't think you will..." He smelled Nion's face. "Because you smell, fear...".

"You should know that if you try to do something fun, just makes sure to kill all of us, because if only one of us escapes, we will make sure that tomorrow my prosper would be aware that Land of Aleksithimia has infiltrated our lands and during the pursuit, two local citizens were killed." He said.

"Ah! And since you are here, let me tell you something interesting... Regardless of today's outcome, tell your prosper to be ready because a new war is not far away from your door." Said the masked man. "We are going to make our move sooner than you think. And when it will happen, I know someone who will rejoice in himself to see you..." As he finished his sentence he removed his hand.

"I will never forgive you what you've done! You'd better watch your back!" Nion spat right into her aggressors' face.

"Eh...We're all going to die one day, but you know what? You can die tonight." He laughed. "Just kidding! LET HER GO!" Shouted the masked man.

The rest of his men were eager for blood, as to their disappointment, they started insulting, and whistling at Nion like a pack of hyenas who could not wait to devour the lion's prey.

Nion was aware that she didn't stand a chance against so many foes and more specifically their leader who intimidated her like she never been before.

The whole group of aggressors was following her with their eyes until she entered the forest and disappeared...